Exploratory Analysis Of The Readability Of Information Privacy Statement Of The Primary Social Networks

The goal of a privacy policy statement of a web site is to inform users of the policies and procedures of a web-site as it relates to their collection, use, sharing, access, security and use of technology as it relates to collection of data (cookies and web beacons) and disclosure of personally identifiable information when a user visits the web site.  In this paper we perform exploratory data analysis of the historical evolution of the readability as well as the reading grade level of the privacy policy statements of Google, Yahoo, Myspace and Facebook.  We used the Flesch-Kinkaid, Gunning Fog and SMOG reading grade analysis measures. We gathered summary statistics of the complexity of each privacy statement (count of 3+ syllables words, count of 6+ characters words, count of 20+ word sentences).  We conclude that (1) Except for Yahoo.com, these privacy policy statements are currently written for web-users with a minimum of 2 years of college education. This is not the case for most of social networks users. (2) Using Yahoo.com as a benchmark, privacy policy statements can accomplish their goals and maintain a reading grade level of high school education or less. Accordingly, social networks can accomplish their goal of providing clear and concise privacy policy statements without having to complicate the policy statements with too many 3+ syllable words, 6+ characters words and 20+ word sentences.  In summary, it is possible to write a legally binding privacy policy statement that is also clear and easy to read

Invited Paper: Subsumption of Information Systems Education towards a Discipline of Design

Disruptive innovations continue to reshape channels of learning. The Information Systems discipline may be among the least immune to these disruptions. As such, students have greater access to the acquisition of the computing skills and knowledge that are commonly presumed to suffice entry-level employment positions sought after by graduates of Information Systems programs. Further, these same technologies disrupting education are shaping the organizational and business environment such that it is fair to reflect on the disposition and complexion of the discipline as a whole and surmise whether this past will predict the future. Moreover, businesses and organizations are finding that the supply chain of workers needed to harness these disruptive technologies flows neither exclusively, nor even optimally, through academia. Upon reflection of this disruptive circumstance of skills and knowledge development, we consider subsuming the IS discipline into the broader auspice of design buttressed equally by emphases on technical excellence, business acumen, and leadership. We explore principles for a design-focused philosophy for Information Systems education that assumes that while higher education programs may have lost the lead in technology skills development focused on entry-level employment, we may reassert our role in computing education through the embrace of design at the philosophical, epistemological, and pedagogical levels

Limited Information and Quick Decisions: Consumer Privacy Calculus for Mobile Applications

Mobile applications (also known as “apps”) have rapidly grown into a multibillion-dollar industry. Because they are available through devices that are “always on” and often with the user, users often adopt mobile apps “on the fly” as they need them. As a result, users often base their adoption and disclosure decisions only on the information provided through the mobile app delivery platform (e.g., the Apple App Store™ or Google Play™). The fact that using a mobile app often requires one to disclose an unprecedented combination of personal information (e.g., location data, preferences, contacts, calendars, browsing history, music library) means that one makes a complex risk/benefit tradeoff decision based on only the small amount of information that the mobile app delivery platform provides—and all in a short period of time. Hence, this process is much shorter and much riskier than traditional software adoption. Through two experiments involving 1,588 mobile app users, we manipulated three primary sources of information provided by a platform (app quality ratings, network size, and privacy assurances) to understand their effect on perceptions of privacy risks and benefits and, in turn, how they influence consumer adoption intentions and willingness to pay (WTP). We found that network size influenced not only perceived benefits but also the perceived risks of apps in the absence of perfect information. In addition, we found that integrating a third party privacy assurance system into the app platform had a significant influence on app adoption and information disclosure. We also found that a larger network size reduces LBS privacy risk perceptions, which confirms our information cascade hypothesis. We discuss the implications of these findings for research and practice

PRIVACY ASSURANCE AND NETWORK EFFECTS IN THE ADOPTION OF LOCATION-BASED SERVICES: AN IPHONE EXPERIMENT

The use of geospatially aware mobile devices and applications is increasing, along with the potential for the unethical use of personal location information. For example, iPhone apps often ask users if they can collect location data in order to make the program more useful. The purpose of this research is to empirically examine the significance of this new and increasingly relevant privacy dimension. Through a simulation experiment, we examine how the assurance of location information privacy (as well as mobile app quality and network size) influences users\u27 perceptions of location privacy risk and the utility associated with the app which, in turn, affects their adoption intentions and willingness-to-pay for the app. The results indicate that location privacy assurance is of great concern and that assurance is particularly important when the app’s network size is low or if its quality cannot be verified

Sharing economy: A review of the literature and a framework for future research

Purpose As sharing economy has become increasingly popular, researchers from various disciplines begin to pay more attention to this important phenomenon. However, the current literature is fragmented and lacks a framework to integrate previous studies and guide future research. This study aims to systematically review the literature to better understand what one knows and what one need to know about sharing economy and provide a road map for future research in the context of sharing economy. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review was conducted with EBSCO and science direct database. In total, 91 studies were identified. Findings The review shows that previous studies focus on different stakeholders, including consumers, peer service providers, platform providers, and competitors. The authors further identify the main topics and limitations of the literature (integrated into a framework) and provide possible directions for future studies. For example, the authors find that few studies have examined individual and technical factors. The findings also show that consumers’ other activities and outcomes have received little attention. To address these limitations, future studies that examine how individual and technical characteristics influence sharing economy’s usage intention/behaviors are suggested. The authors also suggest future studies to explore other activities during the process of sharing economy services. Research limitations/implications The framework and directions provided can further the sharing economy research by addressing important gaps in the current literature. Originality/value This review identifies many opportunities for researchers to better understand the phenomenon of sharing economy

A new approach in requirements elicitation analysis

In requirements analysis the task of elicitation of stakeholder need has been a continuing source of error and frustration in systems development. To aid in the acquisition of a set of proper needs that are critical to the design of an effective system, the systems analyst is provided with a new tool to assist in determining when group consensus has been met with respect to the identification of one or more needs. A recently developed measurement tool for measuring subjective concepts like consensus, agreement, and dissent is described. Categorical data are frequently collected using an ordinal scale such as the Likert scale and a new method is available that gives the analyst a different perspective of group-think. The agreement measure is also extended to an agreement distribution and used to calculate a mathematical distance between two separate agreement distributions. With these measures it is easy to calculate the proximity of agreement between two or more groups of stakeholders. This measure is then applied to requirements analysis. © 2010 ACADEMY PUBLISHER